Laser processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A laser processing apparatus includes a feeding mechanism including at least one feeding roller and winds the electrode sheet around an outer circumferential surface of the feeding roller to feed the electrode sheet in a feeding direction. When an imaginary contact plane surface contacted with a first surface of the electrode sheet on the laser processing points generated on the electrode sheet by a laser irradiation mechanism is determined as a boundary, a region on a side where the electrode sheet is contacted with the imaginary contact plane surface is defined as a first region and a region on an opposite side is defined as a second region. A peripheral edge of an opening portion of the dust collection hood is placed in the first region with respect to the imaginary contact plane surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromthe prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-200294 filed on Dec. 2,2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a laser processing apparatus.

Related Art

Heretofore, as one example of a laser processing apparatus, there isknown a laser processing apparatus including a laser irradiationmechanism to apply laser processing to an object to be processed (atarget object) by irradiating laser beam to a first surface of thetarget object and a dust collection mechanism provided with a dustcollection hood covering laser processing points of the target objectfrom a first-surface side of the target object to collect dust bydischarging (sucking) the air contained in a region which is surroundedby the dust collection hood and the target object. This type of laserprocessing apparatus is, for example, disclosed in Japan Patent No.5729739.

SUMMARY Technical Problems

However, in the laser processing apparatus of the Japan Patent No.5729739, there is a clearance formed between a peripheral edge of anopening portion of the dust collection hood (an opening portion openingto the laser processing points) and the first surface of the targetobject. In this type of the laser processing apparatus, when scatteringmaterials such as spatters scattering or flying linearly to thefirst-surface side from the laser processing points of the target objectat a low angle, the scattering materials could scatter outside the dustcollection hood through the clearance between the peripheral edge of theopening portion of the dust collection hood and the first surface of thetarget object, so that the dust collection mechanism sometimes fails tocollect dust. Herein, as an object to be processed, an electrode sheetis known, for example, and as a laser irradiation mechanism, forexample, there is known a laser irradiation mechanism configured to emitlaser beam to a first surface of an electrode sheet which is being fedin a feeding direction by a feeding mechanism and to apply laserprocessing to the electrode sheet.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstancesand has a purpose of providing a laser processing apparatus achievingreduction in the amount of scattering materials (materials such asspatters scattering from laser processing points of an electrode sheet)that has been leaked out of a dust collection hood and has failed to becollected by a dust collection mechanism.

Means of Solving the Problems

One embodiment of the present disclosure is a laser processing apparatuscomprising: a feeding mechanism to feed an electrode sheet to be appliedwith laser processing in a feeding direction; a laser irradiationmechanism to apply laser processing to the electrode sheet byirradiating laser beam to a first surface of the electrode sheet whichis fed by the feeding mechanism; and a dust collection mechanismincluding a dust collection hood covering laser processing points of theelectrode sheet from a first-surface side of the electrode sheet tocollect dust by discharging the air contained in a region surrounded bythe dust collection hood and the electrode sheet, wherein the feedingmechanism includes at least one feeding roller configured such that theelectrode sheet is wound around an outer circumferential surface of thefeeding roller to feed the electrode sheet in the feeding direction, atleast one imaginary contact plane surface, which is in contact with afirst surface of the electrode sheet at the respective laser processingpoints generated on the electrode sheet by the laser irradiationmechanism, is determined as a boundary, and a region on a side where theelectrode sheet is contacted with the imaginary contact plane surface isdefined as a first region and a region on an opposite side is defined asa second region, and a peripheral edge of an opening portion of the dustcollection hood is positioned in the first region with respect to theimaginary contact plane surface.

The above-mentioned laser processing apparatus includes the laserirradiation mechanism to apply laser processing to the electrode sheetby irradiating the laser beam to the first surface (with respect to thefirst surface) of the electrode sheet that is being fed by the feedingmechanism. Further, the laser processing apparatus includes the dustcollection mechanism including the dust collection hood covering thelaser processing points of the electrode sheet from the first-surfaceside of the electrode sheet. This dust collection mechanism is tocollect dust by discharging (sucking) the air contained in the regionsurrounded by the dust collection hood and the electrode sheet.

Incidentally, scattering materials such as spatters scattering linearlyon the first-surface side (a side opposite to the second-surface side)from the laser processing points of the electrode sheet are to scatterin the second region with respect to the imaginary contact plane surfaceof the respective laser processing points (the imaginary plane surfacewhere the laser processing points are in contact with the first surfaceof the electrode sheet) even when the scattering materials scatter fromthe laser processing points at the lowest angle. The electrode sheetincludes the first surface and the second surface on the opposite sideof the first surface. Further, with the imaginary contact plane surfaceas a boundary, the region on a side where the electrode sheet iscontacted with the imaginary contact plane surface is defined as thefirst region and the region on its opposite side is defined as thesecond region.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned laser processing apparatus,the peripheral edge of the opening portion of the dust collection hood(the opening portion opening on a side of the laser processing points)is positioned in the first region with respect to the imaginary contactplane surface. In other words, a wall portion of the dust collectionhood extends to the first region from an inside of the second regionwith respect to the imaginary contact plane surface. To be morespecific, an inner space of the dust collection hood reaches not onlythe second region but also the first region.

Accordingly, any one of the scattering materials scattering linearlyfrom the laser processing points of the electrode sheet to thefirst-surface side can hit on an inner surface of the dust collectionhood, and thus it is possible to prevent leakage of the scatteringmaterials leaking outside the dust collection hood and to preventfailure in dust collection. Therefore, according to the above-mentionedlaser processing apparatus, it is possible to achieve reduction in theamount of the scattering materials (materials such as spattersscattering from the laser processing points of the electrode sheet) thatleak outside the dust collection hood (scatter outside) and fail to becollected by the dust collection mechanism.

Further, the above-mentioned laser processing apparatus includes thefeeding mechanism including at least one feeding roller to wind theelectrode sheet around the outer circumferential surface of the feedingroller and to feed the electrode sheet in the feeding direction.Providing this feeding mechanism achieves easy arrangement of theperipheral edge of the opening portion (the opening portion opening on aside of the laser processing points) of the dust collection hood insidethe first region with respect to the imaginary contact plane surface.

Further, in the above-mentioned laser processing apparatus, preferably,the feeding mechanism includes the one feeding roller to feed theelectrode sheet by winding a second surface on an opposite side of thefirst surface of the electrode sheet, and the laser irradiationmechanism is configured to apply laser processing to a portion of theelectrode sheet located on an outer circumferential surface of the onefeeding roller.

In the above-mentioned laser processing apparatus, the feeding mechanismincludes the one feeding roller around which the electrode sheet iswound such that the second surface opposite to the first surface of theelectrode sheet is in contact with the outer circumferential surface ofthe feeding roller so that the electrode sheet is fed in acircumferential direction of the feeding roller. Further, the laserirradiation mechanism applies laser processing to the portion of theelectrode sheet located on the outer circumferential surface of the onefeeding roller. Specifically, while the electrode sheet is being fedalong the outer circumferential surface of the feeding roller, the laserirradiation mechanism applies laser processing to a predeterminedportion (a portion to be irradiated) of the electrode sheet located onthe outer circumferential surface of the feeding roller by irradiatingthe laser beam.

In this type of apparatus, for example, a shape of the electrode sheetin a position (area) where the laser processing points are generated isof an arcuate circular shape along the outer circumferential surface ofthe feeding roller. For this reason, the shape of the dust collectionhood may be formed, for example, to cover at least a part of the feedingroller so that the laser processing points generated on the electrodesheet are housed in an inside space of the dust collection hood. By thisconfiguration, the peripheral edge of the opening portion of the dustcollection hood can be placed inside the first region with respect tothe imaginary contact plane surface.

Alternatively, in the laser processing apparatus is, preferably, thefeeding mechanism is configured to: include a first feeding roller and asecond feeding roller, and wind the second surface opposite to the firstsurface of the electrode sheet around the outer circumferential surfaceof the first feeding roller and feed the electrode sheet in acircumferential direction of the first feeding roller, and then feed theelectrode sheet to the second feeding roller from the first feedingroller, and after that, wind the second surface of the electrode sheetaround an outer circumferential surface of the second feeding roller andfeed the electrode sheet to a circumferential direction of the secondfeeding roller, and the laser irradiation mechanism applies laserprocessing to a portion of the electrode sheet fed from the firstfeeding roller to the second feeding roller.

In the above-mentioned laser processing apparatus, the feeding mechanismincludes the first feeding roller and the second feeding roller. Thisfeeding mechanism is configured such that the second surface on theopposite side of the first surface of the electrode sheet is woundaround the outer circumferential surface of the first feeding roller andthe electrode sheet is fed in the circumferential direction of the firstfeeding roller, and then, the electrode sheet is fed to the secondfeeding roller from the first feeding roller, and after that, the secondsurface of the electrode sheet is wound around the outer circumferentialsurface of the second feeding roller so that the electrode sheet is fedin the circumferential direction of the second feeding roller. Then, thelaser irradiation mechanism applies laser processing to a portion to befed to the second feeding roller from the first feeding roller of theelectrode sheet. To be specific, while the electrode sheet is positionedbetween the first feeding roller and the second feeding roller, thelaser irradiation mechanism applies laser processing by emitting thelaser beam to the predetermined portion (the irradiation target portion)of the portion (to be called as a roller intermediate portion) of theelectrode sheet positioned between the first feeding roller and thesecond feeding roller.

In the laser processing apparatus with this configuration, a shape ofthe dust collection hood may be, for example, configured to accommodatethe first surface included in the roller intermediate portion of theelectrode sheet in the inside space of the dust collection hood. Thisconfiguration achieves placement of the peripheral edge of the openingportion of the dust collection hood inside the first region with respectto the imaginary contact plane surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a laser processing apparatus in a firstembodiment;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the laser processing apparatus in a secondembodiment;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a part C in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the laser processing apparatus in a firstmodified embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining laser processing of anelectrode sheet in the first modified embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the laser processing apparatus in a secondmodified embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view for explaining laser processing of theelectrode sheet in the second modified embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

A first embodiment embodying the present disclosure will be explained indetail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. A laserprocessing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment is an apparatus forapplying laser processing to an electrode sheet 10 as shown in FIG. 1.Specifically, the laser processing apparatus 1 is provided with, asshown in FIG. 1, a feeding mechanism 20, a laser irradiation mechanism30, and a dust collection mechanism 50. Further, in the firstembodiment, laser processing is performed in a manner that the electrodesheet 10 of a strip-like shape extending in a longitudinal direction DLis irradiated with laser beam LB linearly from one end to the other endin a width direction (a direction orthogonal to the longitudinaldirection DL or a direction orthogonal to a paper surface of FIG. 1) ofthe electrode sheet 10, so that the electrode sheet 10 is applied withcutting in the width direction to form a plurality of rectangularelectrode sheets 10. The electrode sheet 10 is, for example, utilized asa positive electrode or a negative electrode of a lithium-ion secondarybattery.

The feeding mechanism 20 is to convey or feed the electrode sheet 10 asan object to be applied with laser processing in a feeding direction DM.This feeding direction DM is a direction along the longitudinaldirection DL of the electrode sheet 10 prior to application of laserprocessing. The feeding mechanism 20 of the first embodiment includes asingle feeding roller 21 to be wound around with a second surface 12 onan opposite side of a first surface 11 of the electrode sheet 10 to feedthe electrode sheet 10. To be specific, the feeding roller 21 feeds theelectrode sheet 10 in the feeding direction DM (a circumferentialdirection of the feeding roller 21) such that the second surface 12 ofthe electrode sheet 10 is made to be in contact with an outercircumferential surface 21 b of the feeding roller 21 to wind theelectrode sheet 10 around the feeding roller 21 (see FIG. 1).

Herein, the feeding roller 21 is a suction roller of ahollow-cylindrical shape and is formed with numerous through holes 21 don a cylindrical-shaped wall portion constituting the outercircumferential surface 21 b (see FIG. 1). To this feeding roller 21, asuction device (not shown) to suck the air in an inner space of thefeeding roller 21 is connected. Suction of the air in the feeding roller21 by this suction device applies the force of sucking the electrodesheet 10 that has been wound around the outer circumferential surface 21b of the feeding roller 21 toward a center of the feeding roller 21 viathe through holes 21 d of the feeding roller 21. Thus, the electrodesheet 10 wound around the outer circumferential surface 21 b of thefeeding roller 21 is being fed along the outer circumferential surface21 b of the feeding roller 21 while being sucked to the outercircumferential surface 21 b of the feeding roller 21. Further, thefeeding roller 21 is provided with a linear through hole 21 c of alinear shape extending in an axial direction of the feeding roller 21 topass through the wall portion constituting the outer circumferentialsurface 21 b.

The laser irradiation mechanism 30 is provided with a fiber-laseroscillator 31, a galvanometer mirror 32, and a fθ lens 33 (see FIG. 1).This laser irradiation mechanism 30 applies laser processing to theelectrode sheet 10 by irradiating the laser beam LB directed to thefirst surface 11 (with respect to the first surface 11) of the electrodesheet 10 which is being fed by the feeding mechanism 20. Specifically,the laser irradiation mechanism 30 applies laser processing to a portion15 of the electrode sheet 10 placed on the outer circumferential surface21 b of the feeding roller 21. In other words, while the electrode sheet10 is being fed along the outer circumferential surface 21 b of thefeeding roller 21, the laser irradiation mechanism 30 applies laserprocessing by emitting the laser beam LB to a predetermined portion (anirradiation target portion 15 b) of the electrode sheet 10 located onthe outer circumferential surface 21 b of the feeding roller 21.

In the first embodiment, the laser irradiation mechanism 30 applieslaser processing to cut the electrode sheet 10 in the width direction byserially emitting the laser beam LB from one end to the other end in thewidth direction with respect to the irradiation target portion 15 b thatlinearly extends from one end to the other end in the width direction(the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction DL or thedirection orthogonal to a paper surface of FIG. 1) of the electrodesheet 10 of a strip-like shape extending in the longitudinal directionDL. Thus, a plurality of rectangular electrode sheets 10 are formed fromthe strip-shaped electrode sheet 10. The thus formed rectangularelectrode sheets 10 are accommodated in a housing case 70 placed belowthe feeding roller 21. Herein, the irradiation target portion 15 b movesalong the outer circumferential surface 21 b of the feeding roller 21 inassociation with rotation of the feeding roller 21 in thecircumferential direction. Accordingly, in association with movement ofthe irradiation target portion 15 b, an angle of the galvanometer mirror32 is changed so that the entire irradiation target portion 15 b isirradiated with the laser beam LB.

The dust collection mechanism 50 is provided with a dust collection hood40 and a dust collection hose 51 connecting the dust collection hood 40and the suction device (not shown). The dust collection hood 40 includesa ceiling portion 45 made of laser-beam transmitting glass and anannular side-wall portion 41 extending downward from an outer peripheraledge of the ceiling portion 45. The dust collection hood 40 covers laserprocessing points LP of the electrode sheet 10 from the first-surface 11side of the electrode sheet 10. The laser processing points LP of thepresent embodiment are generated over the entire irradiation targetportion 15 b of the electrode sheet 10 and generated continuouslywidthwise from one end to the other end in the width direction of theelectrode sheet 10. This dust collection mechanism 50 is to collectscattering materials such as spatters scattering from the laserprocessing points LP of the electrode sheet 10 by sucking anddischarging the air contained in a region AC surrounded by the dustcollection hood 40 and the electrode sheet 10 by use of the not-shownsuction device through the dust collection hose 51.

Incidentally, even when the scattering materials such as spattersscatter linearly to the first-surface 11 side (an opposite side of thesecond surface 12) from the laser processing points LP of the electrodesheet 10 at the lowest angle from the laser processing points LP, thescattering materials are to scatter inside a second region A2 withrespect to each of the imaginary contact plane surfaces FS on therespective laser processing points LP. The imaginary contact planesurfaces FS represent imaginary plane surfaces contacted with the firstsurface 11 of the electrode sheet 10 on the respective laser processingpoints LP as shown in FIG. 2. Further, as for the respective imaginarycontact plane surfaces FS, the imaginary contact plane surface serves asa boundary for defining a region on a side (a lower side in FIG. 2)where the electrode sheet 10 is contacted with the imaginary contactplane surface FS as a first region A1 and defining a region on anopposite side (an upper side in FIG. 2) as a second region A2 (see FIG.2).

On the other hand, in the laser processing apparatus 1 of the presentfirst embodiment, a peripheral edge 43 (an annular peripheral edge) ofan opening portion 42 (an opening portion that opens to a side of thelaser processing points LP, or an opening that opens downward in FIG. 2)of the dust collection hood 40 is positioned in the first region A1 withrespect to the respective imaginary contact plane surfaces FS. To bespecific, the side wall portion 41 of the dust collection hood 40extends from inside of the second region A2 to inside of the firstregion A1 with respect to the respective imaginary contact planesurfaces FS. In other words, an inner space (a space surrounded by theceiling portion 45 and the side wall portion 41) of the dust collectionhood 40 reaches not only the inside of the second region A2 but also theinside of the first region A1 (see FIG. 2).

Herein, a laser processing point LP1 is the laser processing point LPgenerated on one end in the width direction of the electrode sheet 10,and a laser processing point LP3 is the laser processing point LPgenerated on the other end in the width direction of the electrode sheet10. A laser processing point LP2 is the laser processing point LPgenerated on a center in the width direction of the electrode sheet 10Further, an imaginary contact plane surface FS1 is an imaginary planesurface contacted with the first surface 11 of the electrode sheet 10 onthe laser processing point LP1, an imaginary contact plane surface FS2is an imaginary surface contacted with the first surface 11 of theelectrode sheet 10 on the laser processing point LP2, and an imaginarycontact plane surface FS3 is an imaginary plane surface contacted withthe first surface 11 of the electrode sheet 10 on the laser processingpoint LP3 (see FIG. 2). Accordingly, when the peripheral edge 43 of theopening portion 42 of the dust collection hood 40 is positioned in thefirst region A1 with respect to both of the imaginary contact planesurface FS1 and the imaginary contact plane surface FS3, the peripheraledge 43 of the opening portion 42 of the dust collection hood 40 isdeemed to be placed inside the first region A1 with respect to all theimaginary contact plane surfaces FS.

Herein, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are figures illustrating a case of forming thelaser processing point LP2, and in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the electrodesheet 10 is shown with its cross-section taken along the laserprocessing point LP2. Further, in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, among four wallportions constituting the annular side wall portion 41 of the dustcollection hood 40, only two wall portions extending along an axial lineof the feeding roller 21 are illustrated in their cross-section, butother two wall portions (not shown) which connect the illustrated twowall portions also extend through the second region A2 to the firstregion A1 with respect to the respective imaginary contact planesurfaces FS.

Accordingly, any scattering materials scattering linearly to thefirst-surface 11 side from the laser processing points LP of theelectrode sheet 10 can hit on an inner surface of the dust collectionhood 40, thus achieving prevention of the scattering materials fromleaking outside the dust collection hood 40 and prevention of collectionfailure. Therefore, according to the laser processing apparatus 1 of thepresent embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of thescattering materials (materials such as spatters scattering from thelaser processing points LP of the electrode sheet 10) that leak out(flies outside) of the dust collection hood 40 and fails to be collectedby the dust collection mechanism 50.

Further, in the present embodiment 1, the irradiation target portion 15b (the portion where the leaser processing points LP are generated) ofthe electrode sheet 10 is configured to be arranged in a positionradially outside the feeding roller 21 with respect to the linearthrough hole 21 c of the feeding roller 21 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, thescattering materials scattering to the second-surface 12 side from thelaser processing points LP of the electrode sheet 10 enter in thefeeding roller 21 through the linear through hole 21 c. By sucking theair in the inside space of the feeding roller 21, the scatteringmaterials having entered the feeding roller 21 can be collected.

The laser processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes thefeeding mechanism 20 including the feeding roller 21 to feed theelectrode sheet 10 by winding the electrode sheet 10 around the outercircumferential surface 21 b of the feeding roller 21 as a feedingmechanism. This configuration of the feeding mechanism 20 achieves easyarrangement of the peripheral edge 43 of the opening portion 42 of thedust collection hood 40 in the first region A1 with respect to therespective imaginary contact plane surfaces FS.

To be specific, in the laser processing apparatus 1 of the presentembodiment, in positions (area) of the electrode sheet 10 where thelaser processing points LP are generated, the shape of the electrodesheet 10 is formed to be an arcuate shape along the outercircumferential surface 21 b of the feeding roller 21 (see FIG. 2).Accordingly, the shape of the dust collection hood 40 can be formed tocover at least a part (an upper part) of the feeding roller 21 so thatall the laser processing points LP are housed in the inside space of thedust collection hood 40. This configuration achieves arrangement of theperipheral edge 43 of the opening portion 42 of the dust collection 40inside the first region A1 with respect to the respective imaginarycontact plane surfaces FS.

Second Embodiment

A laser processing apparatus 101 according to a second embodiment is nowexplained. The following explanation is made with focus on thedifferences from the laser processing apparatus 1 of the firstembodiment, and explanation for similar features is omitted or madesimply. In the second embodiment, too, as similar to the firstembodiment, the electrode sheet 10 is applied with laser processing tocut the sheet in the width direction to fabricate a plurality of therectangular electrode sheets 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the laserprocessing apparatus 101 is provided with a feeding mechanism 120 whichis different from that of the first embodiment, the laser irradiationmechanism 30 similar to that of the first embodiment, and a dustcollection mechanism 150 different from that of the first embodiment.

The feeding mechanism 120 includes two feeding rollers (a first feedingroller 121 and a second feeding roller 122) and a suction belt 125 tofeed the electrode sheet 10 in the feeding direction DM. The firstfeeding roller 121 is a feeding roller of a columnar shape. The secondfeeding roller 122 is a suction roller of a hollow cylindrical shape andis provided with multiple through holes 122 d on a cylindrical wallportion constituting an outer circumferential surface 122 b (see FIG.3).

This feeding mechanism 120 is configured to bring the second surface 12of the electrode sheet 10 into contact with an outer circumferentialsurface 121 b of the first feeding roller 121 to wind the electrodesheet 10 around the outer circumferential surface 121 b of the firstfeeding roller 121 and feed the electrode sheet 10 in a circumferentialdirection of the first feeding roller 121. Then, the electrode sheet 10is fed from the first feeding roller 121 to the second feeding roller122. Subsequently, while the electrode sheet 10 is wound around theouter circumferential surface 122 b of the second feeding roller 122 ina manner that the second surface 12 of the electrode sheet 10 is incontact with the outer circumferential surface 122 b of the secondfeeding roller 122, the electrode sheet 10 is fed in the circumferentialdirection of the second feeding roller 122. Herein, the suction belt 125sucks a portion adjacent to an upstream side and a portion adjacent to adownstream side in the feeding direction DM of the electrode sheet 10with respect to cutting positions which are applied with laserprocessing and feeds the electrode sheet 10 including the thus suckedportions of the electrode sheet 10 to the second feeding roller 122.

The laser irradiation mechanism 30 applies laser processing to a portion(an inter-roller portion 115) of the electrode sheet 10 that is beingfed from the first feeding roller 121 to the second feeding roller 122to cut the electrode sheet 10 in the width direction. Specifically, whenthe electrode sheet 10 is positioned between the first feeding roller121 and the second feeding roller 122, the laser irradiation mechanism30 emits the laser beam LB to a predetermined portion (an irradiationtarget portion 115 b) of the inter-roller portion 115 positioned betweenthe first feeding roller 121 and the second feeding roller 122 of theelectrode sheet 10 to apply laser processing of cutting the electrodesheet 10 in the width direction. Herein, the irradiation target portion115 b (see FIG. 4) is similar to the irradiation target portion 15 b ofthe first embodiment.

The dust collection mechanism 150 is provided with a dust collectionhood 140 and the dust collection hose 51 connecting the dust collectionhood 140 and a suction device (not shown) (see FIG. 3). The dustcollection hood 140 includes a ceiling portion 145 made of laser-beamtransmitting glass and an annular side wall portion 141 extendingdownward from an outer peripheral edge of the ceiling portion 145. Thedust collection hood 140 covers each of the laser processing points LPof the electrode sheet 10 from the first-surface 11 side of theelectrode sheet 10. This dust collection mechanism 150 is to collectscattering materials such as spatters scattering from the respectivelaser processing points LP of the electrode sheet 10 by sucking anddischarging the air contained in the region AC surrounded by the dustcollection hood 140 and the electrode sheet 10 by the not-shown suctiondevice through the dust collection hose 51.

In the present second embodiment 2, too, as similar to the firstembodiment, the peripheral edge 143 (a peripheral edge of an annularshape) of the opening portion 142 of the dust collection hood 140 ispositioned in the first region A1 with respect to the respectiveimaginary contact plane surfaces FS. To be more specific, the side wallportion 141 of the dust collection hood 140 extends from an inside ofthe second region A2 to an inside of the first region A1 with respect tothe respective imaginary contact plane surfaces FS. Namely, an innerspace (a space surrounded by the ceiling portion 145 and the side wallportion 141) of the dust collection hood 140 reaches not only the secondregion A2 but also the first region A1 (see FIG. 4).

Herein, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate a state when the laser processingpoint LP2 is generated, and FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 each show a sectional viewof the electrode sheet 10 at the laser processing point LP2. Further, inFIG. 3 and FIG. 4, among four wall portions constituting the annularside wall portion 141 of the dust collection hood 140, only two wallportions are illustrated in their cross-section extending along axiallines of the first feeding roller 121 and the second feeding roller 122,but two other wall portions (not shown) connecting the illustrated twowall portions also extend from the second region A2 to the first regionA1 with respect to the respective imaginary contact plane surfaces FS.

By this configuration, any scattering materials scattering linearly fromthe laser processing points LP of the electrode sheet 10 to thefirst-surface 11 side can hit on an inner surface of the dust collectionhood 140, so that the scattering materials can be prevented from leakingout of the dust collection hood 140 and from failing to be collected.Therefore, according to the laser processing apparatus 101 of thepresent embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of thescattering materials (materials such as the spatters scattering from thelaser processing points LP of the electrode sheet 10) that leak out ofthe dust collection hood 140 and fail to be collected by the dustcollection mechanism 150.

In the present second embodiment, the respective imaginary contact planesurfaces FS of the laser processing points LP1 to LP3 are identical.Therefore, in the present second embodiment, on all the laser processingpoints LP, the imaginary contact plane surfaces are identical. The firstregion A1 is defined as a region on a side (a lower side in FIG. 4)where the electrode sheet 10 is contacted with the imaginary contactplane surfaces FS and the second region A2 is defined as a region on theopposite side (an upper side in FIG. 4).

Further, in the present second embodiment, a dust collection hood 181 ofa dust collection mechanism 180 is arranged below the laser processingpoints LP generated on the electrode sheet 10 (between the first feedingroller 121 and the second feeding roller 122) (see FIG. 3). Accordingly,the scattering materials scattering from the laser processing points LPof the electrode sheet 10 to the side of the second surface 12 can becollected by the dust collection mechanism 180.

First Modified Embodiment

The first and second embodiments illustrate the laser processingapparatus 1, 101 each applying laser processing to cut the strip-shapedelectrode sheet 10 in the width direction. Alternatively, there may beused a laser processing apparatus 201 of a first modified embodimentshown in FIG. 5 to irradiate the laser beam LB to an irradiation targetportion 215 b (a portion indicated with a double-dot chain line in FIG.6) extending in the longitudinal direction DL on a non-laminated portion216 as one end portion (a right-end portion in FIG. 6) in the widthdirection DW of a strip-shaped electrode sheet 210 to separate a part (aportion positioned on a right side of the irradiation target portion 215b in FIG. 6) of the non-laminated portion 216 of the strip-shapedelectrode sheet 210. Herein, the electrode sheet 210 is formed of alaminated portion 218 laminated on a surface of a current-collectingfoil 217 with an electrode mixture layer 219 and the non-laminatedportion 216 in which the electrode mixture layer 219 is not laminated onthe surface of the current collecting foil 217.

The laser processing apparatus 201 of the first modified embodiment isprovided with a feeding mechanism 220 different from that of the firstembodiment, a laser irradiation mechanism 230 different from that of thefirst embodiment, and the dust collection mechanism 50 similar to thatof the first embodiment. The feeding mechanism 220 is different only inits feeding roller as compared with the feeding mechanism 20 of thefirst embodiment. Specifically, a feeding roller 221 of the firstmodified embodiment is, as compared with the feeding roller 21 of thefirst embodiment, different only in a configuration that the linearthrough hole 21 c is changed to a linear through groove 221 c. Thelinear through groove 221 c is a groove portion of the same shape withthe irradiation target portion 215 b (see FIG. 6) of the electrode sheet210 in planar view and is formed in a position facing to the irradiationtarget portion 215 b along an entire circumference of the feeding roller221. Further, on a bottom part of the linear through groove 221 s,numerous through holes 221 d are formed. The laser irradiation mechanism230 is different from the laser irradiation mechanism 30 of the firstembodiment only in a manner that the galvanometer mirror 232 is changedto change an irradiation position of the laser beam LB with respect tothe electrode sheet 210.

In this first modified embodiment, as similar to the first embodiment,the peripheral edge 43 (the peripheral edge of annular shape) of theopening portion 42 of the dust collection hood 40 is positioned insidethe first region Al with respect to the imaginary contact plane surfaceFS (see FIG. 5). Thus, any scattering materials scattering linearly tothe first-surface 211 side from the laser processing points LP of theelectrode sheet 210 can hit on the inner surface of the dust collectionhood 40, so that it is possible to prevent the scattering materials fromleaking out of the dust collection hood 40 and from failing to becollected. Therefore, also in the laser processing apparatus 201 of thefirst modified embodiment, the amount of the scattering materials(materials such as spatters scattering from the laser processing pointsLP of the electrode sheet 210) that leak out of the dust collection hood40 (scatters outside) and fail to be collected by the dust collectionmechanism 50 can be reduced. In the first modified embodiment, theimaginary contact plane surface FS on all the laser processing points LPare identical.

Second Modified Embodiment

A laser processing apparatus 301 of a second modified embodiment isprovided with a feeding mechanism 320 different from that of the firstembodiment, a laser irradiation mechanism 330 different from that of thefirst embodiment, the laser irradiation mechanism 230 similar to that ofthe first modified embodiment, and a dust collection mechanism 350different from that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 7). The feedingmechanism 320 includes a first feeding roller 321, a second feedingroller 322, and a third feeding roller 323, and these three rollers arearranged in this order from an upstream side of the feeding directionDM. An electrode sheet 310 has a second surface 312 that is brought intocontact with an outer circumferential surface 321 b of the first feedingroller 321, an outer circumferential surface 322 b of the second feedingroller 322, and an outer circumferential surface 323 b of the thirdfeeding roller 323 so that the electrode sheet 310 is fed by the firstfeeding roller 321, the second feeding roller 322, and the third feedingroller 323 in the feeding direction DM.

The laser irradiation mechanism 330 is different from the laserirradiation mechanism 30 of the first embodiment by changing thegalvanometer mirror 332 to change the irradiation point of the laserbeam LB with respect to the electrode sheet 310 (see FIG. 7). The laserirradiation mechanism 330 applies laser processing to a portion (one endportion in the width direction of the electrode sheet 310) of theelectrode sheet 310 that is being fed to the second feeding roller 322from the first feeding roller 321 to remove one end portion in the widthdirection (a right-end portion in FIG. 8) of an electrode mixture layer319 of the electrode sheet 310.

Herein, in the electrode sheet 310 prior to application of laserprocessing by the laser irradiation mechanism 330, the electrode mixturelayer 319 has been laminated on an entire surface of a currentcollecting foil 317. By laser processing by the laser irradiationmechanism 330, the electrode sheet 310 is formed to be the electrodesheet 310 formed with a laminated portion 318 in which the surface ofthe current collecting foil 317 is laminated with the electrode mixturelayer 319 and a non-laminated portion 316 in which the surface of thecurrent collecting foil 317 is not laminated with the electrode mixturelayer 319 (see FIG. 8). The laser irradiation mechanism 230 applieslaser processing similar to the first modified embodiment to the portionof the electrode sheet 310 (the irradiation target portion 215 b) thatis being fed to the third feeding roller 323 from the second feedingroller 322.

A dust collection mechanism 350 is provided with a dust collection hood340 and a dust collection hose 351 connecting the dust collection hood340 and a suction device (not shown) (see FIG. 7). The dust collectionhood 340 includes ceiling portions 345 and 346 which are made oflaser-beam transmitting glass, a ceiling portion 347 connecting theceiling portion 345 and the ceiling portion 346, and an annular sidewall portion 341 extending from outer peripheral edges of the ceilingportions 345, 346, and 347 to sides where the first feeding roller 321,the second feeding roller 322, and the third feeding roller 323 areplaced.

The dust collection hood 340 covers the respective laser processingpoints LP of the electrode sheet 310 from the first-surface 311 side ofthe electrode sheet 310 (see FIG. 7). Herein, the laser processing pointLP made by the laser irradiation mechanism 330 is defined as a laserprocessing point LP1, and the laser processing point LP made by thelaser irradiation mechanism 230 is defined as a laser processing pointLP2. This dust collection mechanism 350 sucks the air in a region ACsurrounded by the dust collection hood 340 and the electrode sheet 310by a not-shown suction device through the dust collection hose 351 anddischarges the air, and thus the scattering materials such as spattersscattering from the respective laser processing points LP1 and LP2 ofthe electrode sheet 310 can be collected.

In this second modified embodiment, too, a peripheral edge 343 (aperipheral edge of an annular shape) of an opening portion 342 of thedust collection hood 340 is positioned in the first region A11 withrespect to the imaginary contact plane surface FS1 and positioned in thefirst region A21 with respect to the imaginary contact plane surface FS2(see FIG. 7). Herein, the imaginary contact plane surface FS on thelaser processing point LP1 is defined as an imaginary contact planesurface FS1 and the imaginary contact plane surface FS on the laserprocessing point LP2 is defined as an imaginary contact plane surfaceFS2. Further, the imaginary contact plane surface FS1 on all the laserprocessing points LP1 is identical, and the imaginary contact planesurface FS2 on all the laser processing points LP2 is identical. Withthe imaginary contact plane surface FS1 as a boundary, a region on aside (a lower side in FIG. 7) where the electrode sheet 310 is contactedwith the imaginary contact plane surface FS1 is defined as the firstregion A11, and a region on the opposite side (an upper side in FIG. 7)is defined as the second region A12. Furthermore, with the imaginarycontact plane surface FS2 as a boundary, a region on a side (a left sidein FIG. 7) where the electrode sheet 310 is contacted with the imaginarycontact plane surface FS2 is defined as the first region A21 and aregion on the opposite side (a right side in FIG. 7) is defined as thesecond region A22.

Accordingly, in the laser processing apparatus 301 of the secondmodified embodiment, any scattering materials scattering linearly to thefirst-surface 311 side from the laser processing points LP1 and LP2 ofthe electrode sheet 310 can hit on an inner surface of the dustcollection hood 340, and thus it is possible to prevent the scatteringmaterials from leaking out of the dust collection hood 340 and fromfailing to be collected. Therefore, in the laser processing apparatus301 of the second modified embodiment, too, the amount of the scatteringmaterials (materials such as spatters scattering from the laserprocessing points LP1 and LP2 of the electrode sheet 310) that leak outof the dust collection hood 340 (scatter outside) and fail to becollected by the dust collection mechanism 350 can be reduced.

Further, in this second modified embodiment, a dust collection hood 381of a dust collection mechanism 380 is placed below the laser processingpoint LP1 generated on the electrode sheet 310 (between the firstfeeding roller 321 and the second feeding roller 322) and on the leftside of the laser processing point LP2 generated on the electrode sheet310 (between the second feeding roller 322 and the third feeding roller323) (see FIG. 7). Accordingly, the scattering materials scattering tothe second-surface 312 side from the laser processing points LP1 and LP2of the electrode sheet 310 can be collected by the dust collectionmechanism 380.

As mentioned above, the present disclosure has been explained with thefirst and second embodiments and the first and second modifiedembodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to theabove-mentioned embodiments and may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from the essential characteristics thereof.

Reference Signs List 1, 101, 201, 301 Laser processing apparatus 10,210, 310 Electrode sheet 11, 211, 311 First surface 12, 212, 312 Secondsurface 20, 120, 220, 320 Feeding mechanism  21, 221 Feeding roller 21b,121b, 122b, Outer circumferential surface 221b, 321b, 322b, 323b 30,230, 330 Laser irradiation mechanism 40, 140, 340 Dust collection hood42, 142, 342 Opening portion 43, 143, 343 Peripheral edge 50, 150, 350Dust collection mechanism 121, 321 First feeding roller 122, 322 Secondfeeding roller 323 Third feeding roller A1, A11, A21 First region A2,A12, A22 Second region DM Feeding direction FS, FS1, FS2, FS3 Imaginarycontact plane surface LB Laser beam LP, LP1, LP2, LP3 Laser processingpoint

What is claimed is:
 1. Laser processing apparatus comprising: a feedingmechanism to feed an electrode sheet to be applied with laser processingin a feeding direction; a laser irradiation mechanism to apply laserprocessing to the electrode sheet by irradiating laser beam to a firstsurface of the electrode sheet which is fed by the feeding mechanism;and a dust collection mechanism including a dust collection hoodcovering laser processing points of the electrode sheet from afirst-surface side of the electrode sheet to collect dust by dischargingthe air contained in a region surrounded by the dust collection hood andthe electrode sheet, wherein the feeding mechanism includes at least onefeeding roller configured such that the electrode sheet is wound aroundan outer circumferential surface of the feeding roller to feed theelectrode sheet in the feeding direction, at least one imaginary contactplane surface, which is in contact with a first surface of the electrodesheet at the respective laser processing points generated on theelectrode sheet by the laser irradiation mechanism, is determined as aboundary, and a region on a side where the electrode sheet is contactedwith the imaginary contact plane surface is defined as a first regionand a region on an opposite side is defined as a second region, and aperipheral edge of an opening portion of the dust collection hood ispositioned in the first region with respect to the imaginary contactplane surface.
 2. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the feeding mechanism includes the one feeding roller to feedthe electrode sheet by winding a second surface on an opposite side ofthe first surface of the electrode sheet, and the laser irradiationmechanism is configured to apply laser processing to a portion of theelectrode sheet located on an outer circumferential surface of the onefeeding roller.
 3. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the feeding mechanism is configured to: include a first feedingroller and a second feeding roller, and wind the second surface oppositeto the first surface of the electrode sheet around the outercircumferential surface of the first feeding roller and feed theelectrode sheet in a circumferential direction of the first feedingroller, and then feed the electrode sheet to the second feeding rollerfrom the first feeding roller, and after that, wind the second surfaceof the electrode sheet around an outer circumferential surface of thesecond feeding roller and feed the electrode sheet to a circumferentialdirection of the second feeding roller, and the laser irradiationmechanism applies laser processing to a portion of the electrode sheetfed from the first feeding roller to the second feeding roller.